I had the opportunity to handle the latest Olympus OM-D Micro Four Thirds camera, the E-M10, earlier this month. It's very similar in look and feel to the E-M5, the inaugural body in the line that now occupies the midrange slot thanks to this announcement and the fall release of the top-end E-M1.

The E-M10 shares a lot of its DNA with the E-M5. It uses the same 1,440k-dot EVF, and also boasts a tilting rear touch-screen LCD. Its image sensor is also the same 16-megapixel CMOS chip, although its processor is the more recent one from the E-M1. That means that the camera can shoot at 8fps, and it can keep that pace for up to 20 Raw images or as many JPG shots as your memory card can hold.

If you're shooting a moving object and want to fire continuously with focus tracking the maximum speed does drop to 3.5fps. And the E-M10's 3-axis image stabilization system isn't quite as steadying as the 5-axis system built into the E-M5. The E-M10 also lacks any sort of weather sealing, so you won't want be able to take it out and shoot in a downpour without worry, as you can with the E-M5 and a sealed lens.

There are a number of creative filters built into the camera, many of which can be previewed in real time in the EVF. And the E-M10 has built-in Wi-Fi, so you can transfer images to your iOS or Android device when in the field, and use those devices to control the camera remotely.

The E-M10 is also the first OM-D camera to have a built-in flash. It pops up out of the viewfinder just like an SLR. There's also a hot shoe if you prefer to use an external strobe or PocketWizard trigger, but there is no digital accessory port included. That means that there's no way to add an external microphone for audio capture as there's also no standard mic input port.

If you prefer a deeper handgrip, Olympus is marketing a unique two-stage grip, the ECG-1, for the E-M10. It's a simple handgrip only, there's no vertical shooting capability or space for an extra battery. But its two-piece design makes it possible to quickly remove the handgrip to access the battery and memory card without having to unscrew it from the tripod mount.

The E-M10 feels like a solid camera, and is an appealing option to Micro Four Thirds shooters who like the look and feel of the O-MD series, but don't need the advanced features offered by the E-M5 and E-M1. It's priced at $699.99 as a body only or at $799.99 with the standard M.Zuiko Digital 14-42mm f3.5-5.6 II R lens. It will be available in March.

Olympus is also bringing a few new Micro Four Thirds lenses to market. There's the M.Zuiko Digital 25mm f1.8—the standard-angle focal length on Micro Four Thirds—and a compact power zoom M.Zuiko Digital 14-42mm f3.5-5.6 that protrudes less than an inch from the lens mount when not in use. And finally there's a new body cap lens; the 9mm f/8 Fish Eye Body Cap barely extends past the lens mount and captures the world in a warped, ultra-wide perspective. Pricing and availability for the news lenses and add-on handgrip are not yet available.

The company is also bringing a pair of compact cameras to market. The SP-100 is a 50x (24-1,200mm) zoom with a 1/2.3-inch 16-megapixel BSI CMOS image sensor. The long zoom camera has a bridge-style design that includes a couple of top-mounted control dials and a 920k-dot LCD EVF. It brings a unique feature to the table in the form of a red dot sight. When the sight is enabled a red crosshair is projected through a window, directly above the EVF. If you lose track of the object that you're trying to capture when zoomed in you can use this sight to center the camera on it, so you won't have to zoom back out and then back in to reacquire it. The SP-100 is set for a March release and is priced at $399.99.

There's also a new camera, the TG-850, joining the Tough series of rugged Olympus shooters. It sets itself apart from similar cameras in two ways: The rear LCD is hinged, and can face all the way forward, and its lens covers an ultra-wide 21mm field of view. Thanks to a 5x zoom ratio it can reach as far as 105mm as well.

The TG-850's rear display has a reasonable 460k-dot resolution, and its 16-megapixel BSI CMOS image sensor is capable of capturing video at up to 1080p60 quality. It has a burst mode that supports 7.1fps capture. It's rated for use in water as deep as 33 feet, can be dropped from heights of 7 feet without issue, can withstand 220 pounds of force, is protected against dust, and can operate in temperature as low as 14°F. The TG-850 is also hitting the streets in March; it will sell for $249.99 and can be yours in silver, black, or white.

Senior digital camera analyst for the PCMag consumer electronics reviews team, Jim Fisher is a graduate of the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, where he concentrated on documentary video production. Jim's interest in photography really took off when he borrowed his father's Hasselblad 500C and light meter in 2007. He honed his writing skills at retailer B&H Photo, where he wrote thousands upon thousands of product descriptions, blog posts, and reviews. Since then he's shot with hundreds of camera models, ranging from pocket point-and-shoots to medium format...
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